Many electrically powered rail vehicles are in existence today, from Montreal's rubber-tired Metro to New York's subway to the overhead catenary or trolley system seen, for example, on the South Shore railroad serving Northwest Indiana and Chicago. In general, present day systems employ heavy steel, four wheeled bogies with large, slow speed integral motors as the driving mechanism thereof. Steering and guidance of such systems are provided by intense forces induced by the interaction of the steel flanged wheels against the steel rails or on existing rubber tired vehicles having four wheeled bogies, by guide flanges or side rollways. Use of such mechanisms requires a large investment in infrastructure to support these great forces safely.
Motive power is provided by, for example, an exposed electrified third rail as seen in London's subway system or overhead wires in trolley systems. Such systems have severe safety issues and/or are less than aesthetically pleasing.
None of the known prior art disclose the light weight transit vehicle set forth herein.